CM downs Franklin in first round of playoffs

Wednesday

Feb 27, 2008 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2008 at 7:18 PM

Three times was a charm for the Catholic Memorial basketball team, as the Knights defeated Franklin for the third time this season. Tuesday night’s game meant a little more, with it being the opening round of the playoff season in the South Division 2 first round.

CM, who won the two regular-season games, completed the trifecta, winning 69-61. CM moves on to play the winner of Quincy-Plymouth North next, who were to play tonight (Wednesday).

Jody Kessler

Three times was a charm for the Catholic Memorial basketball team, as the Knights defeated Franklin for the third time this season. Tuesday night’s game meant a little more, with it being the opening round of the playoff season in the South Division 2 first round.

CM, who won the two regular-season games, completed the trifecta, winning 69-61. CM moves on to play the winner of Quincy-Plymouth North next, who were to play tonight (Wednesday).

CM got a huge game from senior Brendan Monteiro, who poured in 34 points. Junior point guard Jeff Tagger had eight assists and played great defense on Franklin star Matt Dean.

Lincoln Wright had 12 and Allen Harris scored nine for CM. Julian Colarusso was in foul trouble for much of the game, but when he was in, he made things happen, setting up teammates and giving the team a lot of energy. Dean, Franklin’s sophomore star, finished with 27 for the visiting Panthers.

With the game being played at CM’s home gym, it gave the Knights a distinct advantage, as the fans were loud to start the game. The first half of the first quarter was closely played, but after CM started to hit some shots, they gained a 10-point lead after the first quarter, 21-11. In what would be a theme of the evening, Franklin would not go away, as its offensive rebounding kept them in the game. The score was 36-28 CM after the first half.

CM really asserted itself in the second half. The Knights scored the first five points of the half, and behind Monteiro’s scoring, they built a 15-point lead by the end of the quarter, 55-40. But Franklin clawed back when Matt Palazini drained a three-pointer and came in nine, and with two minutes left in the game, it was an eight-point deficit. After another offensive rebound and put-back, they were within six with one minute to play. That would be the closest they would get, though.

“They shot the ball very well,” said Franklin coach Dean O’Connor. “I was very proud of the way our team played. They got some guys who made a few more shots. The key is their guards being able to break you down off the dribble and create for their teammates for open shots. It looked like they were going to blow us out. I was real proud that we fought back.”

O’Connor saw CM as the team to beat in the South. “In my mind, they are the favorite in the South. I would have liked to play them in a later round. We’re playing good basketball. The last two games, they beat us by eight. That tells us how good our team is playing.”

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” said CM coach Denis Tobin. “It’s very difficult to beat a team three times, especially a team like Franklin. I’m pleased with the effort my guys gave for the full 32 minutes.”

“We played good defense; to hold them to 61 points is a good job. We also played with a sense of urgency,” said Tobin. “We were on the floor for loose balls, doing the little things. Our seniors led the way. Monteiro had a great game … We’re starting to peak. I’m looking forward to the next few games. The first game is always the toughest.”

About his big game, Monterio said, “I took good shots. My team found me when I was open. We had good passing, moving the ball well.”

Tagger pointed towards their effort in the second half as a big key: “We turned it up in the second half. We knew we had to speed up the game with the tempo.”

About the rest of the playoffs, Tagger said, “We’re looking forward to it. We’ll take it game by game, see what happens, play our A game every game.” When asked about his defense on Dean he said, “I tried to wear him out a little bit.”

Dean gave Tagger a lot of credit for his defense. “He’s the quickest kid I played all year. It’s tough to bring it up let alone start up the offense.”

Franklin ended their season 15-8. CM is 15-4 and looking to keep charging through the playoffs in hope of getting back to the State Championships, where they lost in the final last year.

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